Headliners for this year's Avanto festival are the Ultra-red collective from Los Angeles, and American-born composer, theorist and queer activist Terre Thaemlitz. Thaemlitz's performance Lovebomb can contribute to the discussion awoken by the discovery that the Finnish police have been systematically drugging refugees seeking asylum before rushing them to airplanes and flying them out of Finland. Thaemlitz no longer wishes to be called American but Japanese: "I hate the U.S. My life there was miserable. I firmly believe it is a matter of identity politics to advocate for the cultural placement of people without official citizenship."

Lovebomb juxtaposes the love for fatherland of blood-hungry liberation fronts, fanatic love for the cause of terrorist groups, and the cult of love created by the pop industry. Compiled from historical source material spanning from early 20th century futurists' poetry of noise all the way to Sammy Davis Junior, the astounding collage is based on masterly manipulation of audio and video.

Read more...
Ian Penman: CUTS'N'TRACKS'N'BRUISES

Ultra-red and Terre Thaemlitz will perform at the Kiasma Theatre on Thursday 20th November 2003 at 18.00